


The Case of the FarmVille Gift Card

by okeydokey (LilMissNerdfighter)



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: John just finds the entire thing ridiculous, M/M, Sherlock is terrified
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 05:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilMissNerdfighter/pseuds/okeydokey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock has never been able to understand the concept of games very well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Case of the FarmVille Gift Card

‘I don’t understand.’

That was the one phrase in five years that John had never heard Sherlock say. Sure, he’d heard him say things like ‘that makes no sense’ and ‘why do they do that?’, but never ‘I don’t understand’.

John was quite ready to comment on this, until he heard the cheerful music coming from his laptop and saw the animation Sherlock was apprehensively watching. In this instance, Sherlock being unable to comprehend the game was completely warranted. The animation stopped loading, and Sherlock relaxed, as if expecting a crossword to appear in its place with a symphony playing quietly in the background. Instead there was a cartoon figure yelling good-naturedly at him to harvest some tomatoes, as the obnoxious folk music continued to roar. He flinched, backing away from the screen with his hands in the air, as though he were afraid it was going to jump out and attack him.

John wished he had a camera, to photograph Sherlock’s expression in that moment. As the figures waved and continued to bear their teeth in a friendly grin, he continued to move away.

‘John, I think my laptop has been overtaken by demons.’ Sherlock told him quite seriously. John smirked in response, walking over to the laptop and muting the dreadful noise.

‘It’s _my_ laptop, and it’s just Farmville. It’s not going to attack you. Actually, why are you on Farmville?’

‘Case.’ Sherlock answered, returning to his previous position. Now the sound was gone, he seemed less disturbed, and proceeded to complete the required tasks as if his life depended on them.  John made a cup of tea, watching Sherlock from the corner of his eye. He had moved so close to the laptop that his face was almost pressed up entirely against the screen, his face filled with a mixture of wonder and disgust. It was only when a pink cow appeared on his screen did he start yelling. ‘John! Why is there a pink cow? The pink cow killed the man! Baskerville have been mutating cows!’

John sighed, draining the dregs of his tea. Leaning over his shoulder, he was surprised to see that Sherlock had built a fairly decent farm in the given time. ‘Sherlock, it’s a game. Like Monopoly, or Cluedo.’

‘Yes, but look!’ Sherlock waved his hand violently in the direction of the pink cow. John gently pushed Sherlock’s hands into his lap and held them there, despite Sherlock’s protests and struggling.

‘Listen, it’s not real. It’s a game, just a game. How is it relevant to the case anyway?’ Sherlock shook his head stubbornly like a petulant child, which only made John grin. ‘C’mon Sherlock, tell me.’

‘Middle-aged mother of two was killed over this game. Wouldn’t stop sending people requests. Her ‘friend’ couldn’t take it anymore and saw red- or pink in this case- and stabbed her with a gift card.’ When John sceptically raised an eyebrow, Sherlock stopped wriggling and groaned, as if explaining cases to his flatmate was the most tedious thing in the world. It wasn’t, it was more interesting explaining things to John, who _understood_ , than to anyone else. Still, he did wish that he’d understand more quickly! ‘It was a gift card for Farmville, and the killer made the mistake of sending her threatening messages via Facebook regarding her invitations to send her ‘gifts’. Using her own account. Bad news for the killer, good news for the Yard. It still took them far too long to put two and two together, and they needed entirely too much help. Idiots.’ Sherlock paused, watching John process the information. He nodded, seeming to follow what his best friend was saying.

‘Yeah, okay. No, actually-why does this involve you playing the game?’

‘I wanted to see what was so irritating that someone would kill to get rid of it. Motive for the murder.’ Sherlock stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘So far it has proved to be mind-numbingly dull, and frankly quite alarming. Pink cows, really, what sort of moron thinks that’s a good idea?’

‘Right,’ John seemed to consider saying something further, but decided to change the subject. This was no odder than heads in the fridge, or eyeballs in the microwave. ‘Are you nearly finished? I need to update my blog.’

‘Oh God, you’re not going to write this one up, are you? The Case of the Ridiculous Pink Cow?’ Sherlock winced, closing the window, smiling as the farm vanished from view.

‘No,’ John conceded. Sherlock visibly relaxed, retreating to sit on his chair in the preying-mantis position. He had nearly withdrawn completely into his Mind Palace, when he heard John mutter, ‘I was thinking more like: The Case of the Farmville Gift Card.’

Sometimes you just couldn’t win.


End file.
